"So…uh…do you like making weapons?" I asked Lexaeus, using my power over metal to form a spear out of a chunk of magic-imbued steel. Everyone had found their weapons (thanks to cleverly anonymous tips from Xigbar) except for Xaldin, so I was stuck trying to recreate his spears in the boiling-hot forge with Lexaeus.

The man didn't reply. Would it kill him to pretend to have a personality? Three hours was a long time to spend on a weapon when I was using my powers, but he wouldn't let me go until I made all six spears on my own. He said it was to help me learn, but he probably guessed I was connected to the prank and just wanted to punish me.

Every single detail had to be perfect, too. This was extremely difficult, since I'd never wanted to get close enough to see every detail. I had to rely on Lexaeus's perfect memory and instructions, which were often so detailed they used terms I didn't understand. Spears had never been my favorite weapons to make.

I concentrated to form a spike that appeared to be a tooth in a dragon's mouth, but he said the angle was off by 6 degrees. What was a degree?

"Focus," Lexaeus said when I let the metal get too runny. As much as I loved magic, I wished I had a good, solid, old-fashioned hammer in my hand. Then there'd be an excuse to not use such ridiculous detail. How did he do it, and why did he care, anyway? Sure, his weapons were fancy, but that didn't matter as long as they killed the Heartless. He sure didn't look like a fancy kind of guy.

This whole assignment was so much different than I'd expected. I didn't have much in common with the other members. I had hoped Lexaeus would appreciate my smithing skills, and I'd have someone to talk to. But except when he was criticizing, he was silent as the grave. I should have known since Xigbar had heard Xaldin and him plotting revenge; I was just hoping for a little nostalgia.

"Sharper," the gruff voice ordered.

It can't get any sharper! If I was a Somebody, I would've felt like screaming. I'd never attempted a weapon this intricate before; I was honestly surprised I was doing this well. But I didn't expect any praise from the Silent Hero.

He wouldn't stop standing over my shoulder, either. I missed the forge with my dad, where we would joke with each other while we both worked. His smile always had bits of ash in it, and his laughs would trail off into hacking coughs, but it was the same with me. That's the way it goes when you're a Smith. Anne Smith. The old name set off nostalgic pangs in my stomach – or maybe I was just hungry. This was taking forever…

Why couldn't I be out there helping Roxas or Xion take down Heartless to get our hearts back instead of agonizing over every detail of a weapon that would just be given to someone who wanted to kill me?

XXX

Nobodies can't use magic forever. Eventually we have to rest and wait for its energy to return to us, just like you can't fight physically without eventually using all your strength. Apparently my breaking point is three hours and forty-six minutes, because it was then that I half collapsed with my hands on my knees, panting. The spear clanked on the concrete floor. A few points that were still unformed globs melted to it.

"Can I eat lunch now?" I moaned, even though it was only 10:24 according to the clock on the wall. Lexaeus nodded, to my surprise. He must've known when something was useless, and right then I was more useless than a pacifist Heartless.

I opened a dark corridor to the Dining Hall of Non-Existence and walked from there into the Kitchen of Brewing Darkness. Who named all the rooms, anyway? Xemnas? If so, he sure had some issues.

Using all my magic left me feeling so much like what Demyx called a 'zombie' that I didn't hear Xaldin sneak up behind me. I was rummaging in the 'refrigerator' (an amazing device that kept food cold and prevented it from spoiling, according to Xigbar. How awesome is that?) for some leftover meatloaf from last night's dinner when he grabbed me by the neck and pinned me to a cabinet.

Oh no oh no can't he found me breathe try to breathe try to breathe! My mind ran out of control as I clawed at his iron fist. Need air don't die now don't die breathe breathe BREATHE!

"You know where my spears are." It wasn't a question, but I attempted to nod anyway. The movement made him grip harder. "You will retrieve them by noon." Or else was implied.

He left me gasping for air and walked calmly to the other side of the kitchen to prepare lunch, like it was ordinary to strangle a girl before cooking. If only I'd gotten there earlier, I could've had my food and been out before ever crossing him.

Taking the container of meatloaf with me, I opened a portal to the beach outside of Atlantica. Thank Kingdom Hearts the other members don't care for meatloaf. It was the only food that Xigbar didn't steal off of everyone's plates. Without enough magic to cast Fire, I had to eat it cold, but it filled my stomach.

As much as I didn't want to search for Xaldin's spears, at least I didn't have to be in Lexaeus's forge working under his constant scowl.

Maybe it was the aftereffect of almost being choked to death, but it took me until then to realize something very important.

How in the worlds would I get to bottom of the ocean when I couldn't even swim?

XXX

"Are you sure this will work?" I asked, looking at Demyx suspiciously.

"Of course! Well, probably, anyway…"

"Well that's reassuring," I muttered. I'd gotten Demyx to help me since his element was water. Plus I'd saved him from Larxene, so he owed me. He said he could create an air pocket so we wouldn't drown, but I didn't trust that completely.

I'd never told anyone, but I'm really, really scared of the ocean. I have been ever since I'd run into a particularly nasty Heartless on the beach as a kid. It had looked like a giant jellyfish of pure evil, and it stung me with enough Thunder magic to knock me unconscious. My dad had managed to drive it off long enough to dive in and pull me out of the water, but I had almost drowned. I'm still surprised I didn't die that day.

"Are you just gonna stand there? I mean, this a good excuse to get out of my mission, but I'd like to get back for lunch," Demyx said, kicking at the sand.

"Yeah. Right." I didn't have much time myself. I gulped, even though I wasn't truly afraid. The memory of my only trip to the ocean was so vivid now, though, like it had been recorded on that magical camera and set to replay in my head.

I took my first step into the dark saltwater. The wetness seeped into my boots and through my socks, chilling my toes until Demyx directed it away. He summoned his sitar.

"It's gonna get harder to keep out the water the deeper we go. Let's hurry!"

I ran now without the water to slow me, and Demyx followed behind. Soon we were so deep it looked like we were in a tube that extended all the way to the surface, with the force of the ocean looming on every side. So far so good.

I stepped over coral and dodged crabs that tried to pinch the edge of my coat, trying to avoid everything that looked remotely dangerous. Sometimes we had to leap over rifts that went down who knew how deep. Hopefully Xaldin's spears didn't fall down one of those.

By now Demyx had to strum to amplify his magic. The constant noise was a little irritating, but much less than the pain of drowning would be.

"I think it's this way," I said, but I wasn't sure. I'd opened the dark corridor in the air above the ocean, so it was impossible to tell exactly where the spears had fallen, but I sensed metal up ahead. It looked close to the cliff the portal had been by. If only I had some magic left, I could've drawn it closer.

"Ow!" Demyx tripped over a clump of seaweed, dropping his sitar. The water instantly started to cave in.

"Get up!" I yelled, grabbing the instrument before we both drowned. He scrambled to his feet just as the giant wave swept him over again. The force of it knocked the breath out of me, and I swallowed water.

Air air need air again why does this keep happening can't breathe! I panicked for the second time that day. Any other death sounded better than death by lack of air. The world spun around me, whether from dizziness or the ocean current I couldn't tell.

Demyx swam towards me as quick as a fish and took the sitar, playing furiously to make the sea recede.

"Are you alright?" He asked, looking worried. He played his sitar with one hand while helping me up with the other.

"Water," I coughed up the gross, salty liquid. "Water everywhere…" I shivered, soaked to the bone. Demyx did me the favor of drying me off, but I was still cold and shaken.

"It's okay, we're gonna be fine," Demyx reassured me, like I was a child. I would've been insulted if I didn't feel like one myself. "I'll be more careful. I promise." He patted my shoulder gently. I'd had no idea he could be so comforting – no one else in the Organization would've tried. I stopped shaking.

"Thank you." I rubbed my burning eyes, trying to feel where the metal was. The sooner we got out of here, the better.

I searched my coat pocket for my mace (it still hadn't been returned to its summoning hook), only to panic again when I realized it wasn't there. Demyx saw the look on my face and found it lying a few feet away.

"Thanks again," I said, meaning it. Demyx smiled at me. Sometimes he was a lot less of an idiot than he seemed. "Let's go."

We were close; I could sense it. Something glimmered at the base of a cliff. We ran towards it only to see a red and green blur speed by and grab it first.

"Aww, come on!" Demyx yelled. "What was that thing?"

"No clue, but we have to follow it." I didn't like the idea at all, but we didn't have much choice.

My day just kept getting better and better.